1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording method wherein a reaction solution and an ink composition are deposited onto a recording medium to perform printing and the recording medium is then washed with a polar solvent.
2. Background Art
Water-based ink compositions generally comprise water as a main ingredient and, added to water, a colorant component and a wetting agent such as glycerin. Recording media used with water-based ink compositions are generally those which, to some extent, absorb ink compositions and are permeable to the colorant, for example, paper. In recent years, ink jet recording has attracted attention as a recording method for performing printing using water-based ink compositions. Ink jet recording is a method wherein droplets of an ink composition are ejected used deposited onto a recording medium to perform printing.
On the other hand, when printing or coating is performed on recording media, which do not basically absorb water-based ink compositions, such as plastics and metals, solvent-based ink compositions or coating compositions using an organic solvent (particularly a lipophilic organic solvent) are generally used. The solvent-based ink compositions or coating compositions, when printed on non-absorptive recording media, can yield prints possessing excellent fixation, rubbing/scratch resistance, fastness properties or other properties. Some organic solvents, however, are toxic against animals and plants. Therefore, care should be taken, for example, in use or disposal of these organic solvents, and, thus, these organic solvents are in many cases inconvenient for handling.
Even in the case of printing or coating on non-absorptive recording media, a recording method using water-based ink compositions is preferred, for example, from the viewpoints of safety, environment, and convenience of use. In the printing on non-absorptive recording media, however, the colorant component of the water-based ink composition should be strongly fixed onto the surface of the recording medium. A general proposal for improving the fixation of the colorant onto the recording medium is to add a resin as a binder to the water-based ink composition. This resin functions as the binder to fix the colorant onto the recording medium.
In printing on recording media, such as plastics and metals, in many cases, durability, lightfastness, and weathering resistance are generally required of prints. The addition of an ultraviolet absorber or a photostabilizer to ink compositions is considered as means for improving the lightfastness of the ink composition. Since, however, most of ultraviolet absorbers and photostabilizers are oil soluble, it is difficult to allow these ultraviolet absorbers and photostabilizers to exist in a satisfactory amount in water-soluble ink compositions. Further, the addition of low-molecular weight lightfastness-imparting agents or some polymer binders to ink compositions is considered as means for improving the weathering resistance of the ink composition. However, under severe conditions, for example, such that prints are exposed to rain and dew in the open air, or come into contact with saltwater on the sea, in some cases, it is difficult to maintain the initial image quality of prints.
Further, in ink jet recording, the dispersion stability and ejection stability of the ink composition should be improved from the viewpoint of realizing the formation of good images.
Further, in the case of printing letters, in general, real image printing is carried out. According to the applications of prints and the environment in which prints are used, however, mirror images are sometimes printed on recording media. For example, in the case of wall materials, packing materials, and transfer paper, mirror image printing of a design is sometimes performed on transparent or semi-transparent recording media. Further, seals are produced based on a block copy as a mirror image print. Further, in specialty sheets for backlight, a mirror image is printed on the backside of sheets. In use, light is applied to the backside of the sheet on which a mirror image has been printed. Therefore, also in the case of mirror image printing, a printing method is required which can yield images possessing excellent fixation, rubbing/scratch resistance, and lightfastness and good image quality.